Mushroom-bullet.



P. O. HOAGLAND.

MUSHROOM BULLET.

APPLIOATION rum) APR. 2a, 1913.

1,6? MHZ. Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

WW M 0 A TTORNEY coLumsm PLANDGRAPH CID-,WASHINDTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

FRANK O. HOAGLAND, OF BRIDGEPOR-T, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR- TO THE UNIONMETALLIC CARTRIDGE COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORA- TIONOF CONNECTICUT.

MUSHROOM-BULLET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 38, 1913.

T 0 all whom, it may concern.

Be it known that I, FRANK O. IIOAGLAND, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, haveinvented an Improvement in Mushroom-Bullets, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention has for its object to provide a hard pointed andpractically fulljacketed bullet that will have the flat trajectory andthe great muzzle energy, velocity, range, penetrative power and accuracyof ordinary full -jacketed bullets combined with the great shockingpower of mushroom bullets; that is to say, my present invention enablesme to produce a mushroom bullet having all the advantages of an ordinaryfull-jacketed bullet and likewise having to the fullest extent theshocking powers of an ordinary softnosed mushroom bullet.

Vith these ends in view I have produced the novel bullet which I willnow describe,

. referring to the accompanying drawm forming a part of thisspecification an using reference characters to indicate the severalparts.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the jacket of my novel bullet;Fig. 2 a view of the completed bullet, the lead core being inserted andthe base of the jacket closed about the core; Fig. 3 a similar viewillustrating a slightly variant form, and Fig. l is a view of the bulletmushroomed by firing.

It will of course be understood that the invention is not limited to anyspecial style or contour of bullets but is applicable to conical bulletsof any style or contour.

The essential features of the invention are that portions of the jacketnear the point are cut away leaving openings, having forwardlyprojecting edges, which are filled by the relatively soft metal of thecore when the latter is swaged to place, the bullet as completed havinga perfectly supported tip forming a part of the jacket, below the tipopenings filled by the relatively soft metal of the core, giving to thebullet a normal superficial contour, and the tip being connected to themain portion or body of the jacket by bridge pieces or connecting stripswhich are narrow at their inner ends causing them to serve as wedgeswhen the bullet strikes an objective and split the body of the jacketand cause both the lead core and the forward end of the jacket tomushroom, as

shown in Fig. 4. The exact shape of the openings in the jacket and ofthe bridge pieces or connecting strips is wholly immaterial, so far asthe present invention is concerned.

10 denotes the body of the acket, 11 openings therein, 12 the tip, 13bridge pieces or connecting strips which connect the tip with the mainportion of the body and are narrow at their inner ends and 14 therelatively soft core, ordinarily of lead, portions of which are forcedthrough the openings in the body, when the core is swaged to place inthe usual manner. It is deemed sufficient for the purposes of thisspecification to state that the jackets are formed complete with theopenings therein, the cores of lead are cast in the form of slugs, theackets are placed in dies, the lead cores are placed therein and swagedto place, portions of the lead of the cores passing through the openingsin the jackets and being swaged to the form of the completed bullets byimpact with the dies, and then the bases of the jackets are closed aboutthe bases of the cores. as clearly shown.

The openings 11 in the jacket are cut backward from near the point andmay be approximately V-shaped when seen in section or elevation, as inFigs. 1 and 2, the sides of the opening meeting at an angle, or theopenings may extend straight backward, the sides thereof being parallelor substantially parallel with the axis of the bullet, as in Fig. 3, theessential features being that these backwardly cut openings in thejacket leave bridge pieces, narrow at their inner ends, which connectthe tip with the body of the jacket, and forwardly projecting edges 15,which by engagement with an objective assist in tearing the bullet openand facilitate the mushrooming operation.

The exact amount of the metal of the jacket that is closed about thebase of the core is of course immaterial. It is essential, however, thatsufiicient metal of the jacket be closed about the base of the core torender it impossible for the core to be forced out of the jacket infiring, leaving the jacket in the gun. In Fig. 2 I have shown the entirebase of the core as covered by the inturned end of the jacket and inFig. 3 I have shown a portion only of the base of the core as covered bythe inturned end of the jacket.

When my novel bulletstrikes an objective the tip is checked but owing tothe softness of the metal in the openings between the bridge pieces, theimpetus of the body of the bullet will cause the bridge pieces to act aswedges and split the jacket. The edges 15 also tend to cause the jacketto be opened outward, but, irrespective of the shape of the openings,the checking of the tip causes the lead of the core to be forced outwardthrough the openings, tearing the jacket and producing an effectivemushrooming of the bullet, as I have demonstrated by many experiments.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. A bullet of the character described comprising a full jacket havingopenings backwardly cut from near the point leaving a tip, bridge piecesnarrow at their inner ends which connect the tip with the body of thejacket and forwardly projecting edges at the outer sides of theopenings, and a relatively soft core swaged into the jacket and fillingthe openings.

2. A bullet of the character described, comprising a full jacket havingopenings V-shape in section backwardly cut from near the point leaving atip, bridge pieces narrow at their inner ends which connect jectingedges at the outer sides of the openings, and a relatively soft coreswaged into the jacket and filling the openings.

4. A bullet of the character described, comprising a full jacket havingopenings backwardly cut from near the point leaving 2 a tip and bridgepieces narrow at their inner ends which connect the tip with the body ofthe jacket, said bridge pieces serving as wedges to split the body ofthe jacket when the tip strikes an objective, and a relatively soft coreswaged into the jacket and filling the openings.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK Oi HOAGLAND. Witnesses:

A. M. VVoosTER, S. W. ATIIERTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

